A designer garment is built to last, but construction only gets it so far. How you wash, dry, hang and store it decides whether a cashmere knit pills in a season or softens over a decade. This guide covers how to care for designer clothing piece by piece: reading the care label, knitwear, tailoring and coats, leather and shearling, denim, and storage between seasons. The same principles apply across our edits of women's designer clothing and men's designer clothing. Handbags follow different rules, so they are covered separately in our guide to luxury leather bag care.
Read the Care Label Before Anything Else
The small symbols sewn into a seam are more precise than they look. A washtub means it can be washed, and a hand in the tub means by hand only. A circle refers to professional cleaning, and the letter inside tells the cleaner which process to use, with P and F marking dry-cleaning solvents and W marking professional wet cleaning. A cross through any symbol means do not.
Take dry clean only seriously on tailoring. Jackets often carry fused interlinings or a sewn canvas, and water can shrink or unsettle those inner layers at a different rate from the cloth outside, leaving bubbles across the chest that no pressing will fix.
How to Wash and Dry Designer Knitwear
Most wool and cashmere knits are happier washed by hand than dry cleaned, unless the label says otherwise. Use cool water and a wool detergent, press the suds through gently, and never wring. Roll the knit in a towel to lift out the water, then dry it flat, reshaped, away from heaters and direct sun. Hanging a wet jumper stretches it permanently.
Some surface pilling is normal on any knit. Friction works short, loose fibres to the surface in the first few wears, especially under the arms, and a cashmere comb or a fabric shaver used lightly removes them; heavy pilling that keeps coming back after that points to shorter fibres in the yarn. Fold knitwear on a shelf; a hanger pulls the shoulders out of shape. Browse men's designer knitwear and women's designer knitwear.
Knitwear Worth Looking After
Wool, cashmere and cotton knits
Caring for Tailoring and Wool Coats
Brush tailoring after each wear with a natural-bristle clothes brush, working down the grain to lift dust before it settles into the weave. Then let the jacket rest for a day. Wool fibres recover their shape overnight on a broad wooden hanger that fills the shoulder, while a suit worn two days running holds on to every crease.
Steam rather than iron where you can, since a hot iron can leave a shine on wool. Dry cleaning has its place, but frequent cleaning and pressing wear cloth out faster than wearing it does, so spot clean small marks and save the full clean for when a coat genuinely needs it.
Leather and Shearling Jackets Need Different Rules
Leather wants moisture, though not water. Wipe it with a soft, slightly damp cloth, condition it once or twice a year with a product suited to its finish, and test any conditioner inside a hem first. If a jacket gets caught in rain, let it dry naturally on a hanger, well away from heaters, which stiffen and crack the hide.
Shearling is more delicate. Brush the fleece gently to stop it matting, and take serious marks to a specialist cleaner. Store both on a wide hanger with room around them, in a breathable cover rather than plastic, which traps humidity. See the men's designer leather jackets.
Leather Outerwear
Jackets that improve with care
Washing Designer Denim Less, and Better
Denim lasts longer the less you wash it. When you do, turn the jeans inside out, use cold water and a little mild detergent, and line dry them, which protects both the indigo and the stretch fibres many modern denims contain. Raw denim is a special case: early washes are what set its fades, so hold off as long as is comfortable, and expect indigo to rub onto pale upholstery in the meantime.
Coated and waxed denims are another exception, so follow the label to the letter. Browse men's designer jeans and women's designer jeans.
Storing Designer Clothing Between Seasons
Moths are the real threat to stored clothing. Their larvae feed on keratin, the protein in wool, cashmere and silk, and they are drawn to body oils and food marks, so clean everything before it goes away. Store knits folded in breathable cotton bags or boxes, check them at least once a season, and deal with a small hole early, while a repair can still be invisible. Treated this way, the pieces in our edit of men's designer clothing at MARAIS will be ready the moment the weather turns.
